Packaging equipment is commonly used for the filling of containers, the closure of the containers, and the labeling of containers. Examples of containers in frequent use are the bottles or boxes found on the shelves in the marketplace. The bottles are used to package food and other items for both the home and in industry. Such packages are provided with labels to identify the contents of the package, as well as to provide instructions in the use of the material contained within the package.
A problem arises in that there are occasions wherein there is insufficient room on a package label to provide all of the necessary data and instructions on the use of the material contained within the package. For example, in the distribution of medicinal products, literature or “outserts” in the nature of a multifolded paper are attached to the package; unlike the usual label, such multifolded paper has adequate space to fully describe the material being packaged and/or its use. The outsert has the description of the drug, side effects and all of the necessary legal information that must be provided by the pharmaceutical company to the end user. However, the securing of literature, such as the foregoing multifolded paper or a brochure of bound sheets of paper, is not readily accomplished by the type of mechanism utilized for applying a simple, single layer label. The bulkiness of the literature and its tendency to open, necessitates the use of specially constructed equipment which can handle the folded or bound literature. The known literature-applying machines have a number of problems. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,063 which utilizes a web of pressure sensitive tape to move literature from a literature magazine to the target container. Web breaks and adjustment of the literature stop pins create constant attendance. Tension of the web is critical because too much tension causes web breaks, while not enough tension may cause the web to sag.
An additional problem with prior art outserters centers on the step of removing the literature from a magazine hopper and placing it on the web in a consistent manner. Such conventional literature-applying machines use a reciprocating or rotary mechanism that takes the literature out of a hopper using a vacuum, turns the literature at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the web, and then releases the vacuum, thus adhering the literature to the web. One such machine utilizes a vacuum star wheel to pull the outsert out of a magazine hopper. However, this type of mechanism does not apply the literature to the web with consistent accuracy, and must be rebuilt frequently due to constant mechanical wear. Literature may also be applied to containers using glue machines. The literature is removed from a hopper and placed on a rotary drum. The drum holds the literature by vacuum and is rotated to a station that applies glue to the back of the literature. The drum is then rotated to another station where the literature is applied directly onto a container. This method of applying a piece of literature to the container, however, is messy and inaccurate. In an alternative to this procedure, a container is positioned on a platform that is eccentric. The hotmelt glue is applied to the side of the container. When the containers nears the outsert, dual feed screws accelerate the outsert to meet the glue on the containers. When the containers nears the outsert, the container is rotated on the platform and the glue pulls the outsert out of the hopper. In this method the container actually hits the outsert at the magazine discharge and the only thing that actually pulls the outsert out of the hopper is the adhesive strength of the glue. The system described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,359 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) overcomes many of the disadvantages inherent in the above described literature-applying machines by providing a rotatable member which receives literature from a hopper and is rotated to a station that applies the literature to an adhesively coated web. The rotatable member of that device is rotated such that only a single piece of literature is received by each literature receiving area on the rotatable member. The system includes a hopper having an exit for dispensing literature one piece at a time and a rotatable member having a plurality of literature-receiving areas disposed around the periphery thereof. Each literature-receiving area receives one piece of literature from the exit. The member is positioned such that a portion of the periphery thereof is in facing relationship with the exit of the hopper for allowing one of the literature-receiving areas to be aligned with the exit for receiving the one piece of dispensed literature. Drive means is drivingly associated with the member for rotating the member in a first direction such that the literature-receiving areas pass by the exit one at a time to correspondingly receive a piece of literature from the exit of the hopper. A web having an adhesive coating on one side thereof is provided for receiving and carrying pieces of literature. Guide means guide the web past a literature-receiving area of the member having a terminal piece of literature positioned thereon such that the adhesive coating on the web is in facing relationship with the terminal piece of literature. First transfer means transfers the terminal piece of literature from the literature-receiving area having the terminal piece of literature therein into adhering contact with the adhesive coating on the web. Moving means moves the web past the first transfer means toward an object which is to receive a piece of literature. Second transfer means transfers a piece of literature from the web to the object. Means receive the web after removal of literature therefrom by the second transfer means.